Philadelphia Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Methamphetamine with the Intent to Distribute

Jackson, Miss. – Courtny Orlando Campbell, 27, of Philadelphia, pled guilty today before Chief United States District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III, to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Jere T. Miles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.

On February 2, 2017, Agents with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics stopped a vehicle driven by Campbell. As Campbell stopped his car, he jumped out and took off running. He was caught a short distance away. Agents found a bag that Campbell tossed as he ran and found methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and a set of digital scales. The case is the result of an extensive Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, dubbed "Operation Highlife," which began as an operation targeting illegal narcotics distribution in East Central Mississippi that involved the distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana. The distribution network encompasses the States of California, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.

“Methamphetamine has devastated countless communities due to the dramatic health and public safety consequences that typically accompany its introduction into an area,” said Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans Jere T. Miles. “Today’s guilty plea stems from an extensive HSI effort with its federal, state and local partners to dismantle a drug trafficking organization that decimated parts of Mississippi and Alabama with methamphetamine smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico. This operation is a testament to the seamless partnership between HSI, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and we are thankful for their assistance as well as the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to improve the lives of law-abiding residents throughout Mississippi and Alabama.”

Campbell will be sentenced by Judge Jordan on January 11, 2019, at 9:00 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of Life in prison and a $10,000,000 fine.

The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

This OCDETF case is a result of a joint investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. Assisting agencies include the Philadelphia Police Department, Neshoba County Sheriff’s Department, Neshoba County District Attorney’s Office, Scott County Sheriff’s Office, Flowood Police Department, Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, Hinds County Sheriff’s Department, Carthage Police Department, Union Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Louisville Police Department, Mississippi Highway Patrol, United States Attorney's Office Southern District of Mississippi and the United States Marshal’s Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Chalk is prosecuting the case.